Well everybody, that’s the last stop of the day. From here, it’s only about 10 miles to the very end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you started at mile 0, all the way up in Virginia, and ya made it this far, well hats off to you. Holy overlooks! That is one heckuva journey.
But, the journey doesn’t have to end here. When ya get to the end of the Parkway, ya really oughtta check out the town of Cherokee. If you’ve got the time, I’d definitely visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual Co-Op. Or you can support the local economy by just grabbing a bite to eat. I mean, ya made it this far, might as well explore the namesake town of the tribe we’ve learned so much about.
Speaking of the Cherokee, I do have time to share one more story before we reach the end of the Parkway. I’m guessing you’ve heard the old fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, yea? You know, where the moral is ‘slow and steady wins the race?’ Well, the Cherokee version is a little different, and, to me, kinda funny.
Long ago, in the animal community living in these mountains, Rabbit was known as a very fast runner. Maybe even the fastest. And Rabbit was kind of obnoxious about it. He bragged to everyone about how fast he was.
The one who was annoyed the most was Turtle. Y’see, Turtle was known as a great warrior, but when it came to running, well, he was a turtle. But, he’d heard enough of Rabbit’s bragging, so he challenged Rabbit to a race across four mountain ridges.
Rabbit accepted the challenge. And because he was so sure he was gonna win, he gave Turtle a head start, letting him begin the race one ridge ahead.
The next morning, all the animals came out to watch. The race began, and Rabbit bounded up the path to the first ridge.
But when he reached the top, Turtle was already on the second ridge. Whoa! So Rabbit picked up the pace. But when he reached the second ridge, Turtle was passing over the third. Now Rabbit was nervous. He ran as fast as he could. There was no way he was gonna let Turtle win the race. But no matter how fast he hopped, Turtle kept his lead. Finally, as Rabbit was coming over the fourth ridge and completely wiped out, he watched Turtle cross the finish line.
Exhausted, Rabbit fell to the ground and cried.
So…uh, are you wonderin’ how Turtle beat Rabbit? By cheating, of course. Turtle knew there was no way he could beat Rabbit, but he knew Rabbit needed a big ol’ bite of humble pie. So, Turtle rounded up some turtle friends and placed them on each ridge before the race. Then as Rabbit reached one ridge, the friend on the next ridge would appear, then hide. Turtle himself waited on the very last ridge, so he could watch Rabbit lose. He never told the other animals how he’d done it. Now, I’m not really sure what the moral is here exactly, but ol’ Turtle had a point: turns out, you can shut down a bragger with a good old-fashioned prank. The end.
And with that, I’ll chime in once more to end the tour and say fare thee well.
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